658/The Whole Ball of Yarn

The Whole Ball of Yarn
Date of Scene:	20 March 2020
Location:	New York City Auction House
Synopsis:	The Black Cat may have met her match in the new security guard at the auction house.
Cast of Characters:	Felicia Hardy, J'onn J'onzz

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Felicia Hardy has posed:
There is a great stir in the media about a clutch of jewels going up for bid at the auction house tomorrow night. Security is as tight as it has ever been. But for once, it isn't the jewels that have caught the Black Cat's eye. In fact, it has been another item going onto the block that interests her. A scroll that no one seems to know much about - with inscriptions in a dead language that no one can yet decipher. And THAT is a curiosity that she cannot deny.

With the auction looming tomorrow night...well, tonight is going to be her last chance to nab it, before it goes home with someone else. A dark figure zip lines quietly onto the roof of the auction house and moves quietly among the other silhouettes there. She has to get a sense of the security presence, and how to get around it.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
Security, in the auction house, is as tight as it can be, but as in most cases, subject to human faults and errors, mostly because humans are the main part of the security measures taken!
Even if there's cameras looking here and there, movement sensors in the place where jewels and the scroll are kept and alarms on all doors, the main thing is the groups of police agents patrolling the corridors, standing guard on all doors and trying to look intimidating with their tasers and nightsticks and sleepy faces.
John Jones is, today, part of one of those groups! In fact, for some unknown reasons, he's one of the two agents standing guard in front of the vault door, and likely only door, that gives access to the stash of treasures to keep safe till tomorrow. And so it is that the martian is shapeshifted into his average policeman identity, complete with uniform, night stick, taser, a gun, a flashlight and an alert expression that he keeps mostly just for show.
"I wonder if I'll get a promotion after this, I mean, standing like this all night, eyes open, hand on the gun out of a door, isn't it heroic? I suppose the boss should at least hand us a medal once all this is done, I mean if noone steals the jewels. Would you ever imagine someone getting in like this? Security is like, I mean, fort nox, yeah, like fort nox and, I dunno, they'd need a tank to get in here! A huge, enormous, powerful tank!" and John's partner? He's a talkative young guy that could be a recruit.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
The Black Cat has the whole place mapped out in her head. She knows where the officers are, and more importantly, she knows where they aren't.

Slipping through a heating duct between floors, Cat comes across the spot she knows to be the ceiling of the room where the objects to be auctioned are stored. And she begins to quietly cut a Cat-sized hole where she can slip down inside.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz blinks once, twice, then turns to his colleague with a sigh "hey, Tom, would you please go check that corridor? I think I heard a noise... I'll head into the vault to check the stuff..." which has two effects, getting rid of the talkative human, and actually checking the jewelry! Because, well, he probably senses someone that no human should be able to sense...
But lets not forget that he's not a human, after all, nine senses have their uses! And so tom nods and sprints away, and John turns, typing the code on the door's keypad and slipping into the room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness as he studies the vault.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
When the police officer enters, he will find someone prepared for him. Hanging from a hole in the ceiling, sitting in a loop of line like a swing, is a leather-clad woman with silver hair and a black domino mask. She is smiling as she stretches leisurely. "C'mon inside, Handsome....close the door...."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
Inside John comes, and the door is promptly closed! Though, as his eyes examine the woman near the ceiling, his posture remains oddly relaxed, hands far away from the weapons and gadgets resting uselessly perhaps at his belt "you are, definitely not supposed to be in here, hm?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Oh, c'mon...I'm not causing any problems. Just wanted to get a look at the merchandise before I decide to bid." She extends a pointed foot and slowly tips backward to flip down off the wire and down to the floor. In truth, she has already seen the scroll, and she knows that it fits the exact description that her client gave her. It is secured in a tube on a leather sling on her back beneath her hair. "I am only here for philanthropic reasons," she purrs as she sidles up to the officer and stops close in front of her. "Would you like to frisk me?"

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz's posture remains unchanged, he even clasps his hands behind his back as his eyes lock on the woman's face, and her mask. His sensesare all trained on her, his mind is ever so slowly scanning hers at first for signs of defenses, and afterwards to seek her intentions, and what she's after "I would think it could be easier if you told me what you're seeking, if you already have the object, and why are you wanting it..." martian stoicism coming out, perhaps?

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"My, my...You are direct, aren't you?" Cat pouts for a moment, then looks up at him with those wide aqua eyes. They have begun to sparkle green with mischief as she watches his own eyes. "Well, since you've caught me like the cat that ate the canary, I might as well come clean, hmmm?" She smiles and frets at he lip with her teeth. "I have a client whose archeological dig was burglarized in Central America. A priceless artifact was stolen, before it could provide any information on the civilization that created it. I was hired to ...pick it up. And return it to him." She looks back up into his face again, before she circles him slowly, looking him up and down.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz doesn't really make any move, letting her circle as she pleases, but keeping a telekinetic pressure on the door so that it couldn't open, and now that he has located her entry point, doing the same thing there!
"so you're basically rescuing a stolen object by stealing it back... So very original. The method seems quite wrong just the same" he states plainly, his mind now scanning hers to see if what she says is the truth, at least.

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Felicia's thoughts ring true to her words. In this situation, they could not but help her cause, so she has no reason to lie. However, one tiny detail seems to be a little out of place. Her motivation here is the thrill of the hunt, the escape. The getting into someplace people said was impossible to break in. And now, her thoughts are more toward winning the favour of a certain police officer. Maybe just to see if she can? The interest in him is of a primal and instinctual nature, more than thoughtful. "Maybe I'm a bad kitty," she offers with a sidelong glance. "But my intentions are good. Sometimes a just can't help myself..."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz smiles internally at what he sees and reads in her mind, turning to face Felicia "so right now, I have two options. I could have you put that scroll in its rightful place, to suggeest to its rightful owner to find, legal ways to get it back, or I could pretend I never saw you, which is really really a quite unadvisable option, right now." he explains, tilting his head slightly to peer at the woman "after all, you managed to elude almost all of the security measures, got in, took the object, and would've been out as well in a heartbeat... So, your pride is safe isn't it?"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
The Black Cat pauses in her circling, and looks back to the officer. Her eyes are narrowing as the gears turn inside her mind. "So...THAT'S how you found me..." She pauses a moment and smiles, thinking this time instead of speaking. <I bet they have to pay a hefty price for an officer who can read minds...>

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz smiles slightly now, glancing at her but shaking his head "oh, they don't know... But if you want to know no that's not how I found you. Come to think of it your mind is quite stealthy, in a way..." he admits

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"Oh, is it?" Cat asks, pressing in closer toward the officer with a playful expression. "Well I do LIKE to be a surprise. But then how did you find me?"

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz chuckles lightly, shaking briefly his head "well well now, if I told you, I'd loose my own air of surprise, wouldn't I? If it can make you feel any better noone else in the entire building is aware of your presence, so nicely done. There's definitely different ways in which such talents could be employed, but far from me the idea of suggesting you actually use them to do some good" he winks

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Cat groans and squirms a little. "NOW you sound like Spider-Man...always suggesting that I be on my best behaviour...always ways telling me that I could do good. I think I provide a fantastic service to those in need, and they provide me the lifestyle to which I have become accustomed. Don't YOU ever think outside the box?" she purrs, looking up at the officer.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz chuckles some more "eh, maybe there's some truth to his words! Just maybe, just saying..." he then tilts his head, faking an obviously perplexed expression "ssh, why, am I not thinking out of the box? You're not handcuffed and handed to the local autorities, your mask is still on, and the object that you shouldn't steal is right behind your back... Come to think of it, put it back, please, then if you want, you are allowed to leave..."

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Cat's eyes dilate slightly at the suggestion, and her gaze grows defiant. "So that the thief can make a fortune on something that isn't his to begin with? I will turn this over to the proper authorities, at the very least, so that it can be tracked and its rightful owner can get it back. I suppose....I suppose it is up to you, whether you are that proper authority..."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz nods tightly "that's what I'm here for... I will make sure investigations are done on the scroll, so that it may be returned to its owner in a legal way... For all you know, the one hiring you could've been lying to you, after all..." he states, again clasping his hands behind his back and returning to his serious expression

Felicia Hardy has posed:
Cat continues to stare down the officer defiantly. She maintains that expression for a long moment more, before she sighs and takes the scroll from the tube on her back. "Fiiiiine. But you're lucky you're cute."

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz extends his own right hand to take the scroll, carefully shifting his fingers so that they'll never leave a single fingerprint, just in case! "of course..." he mumbles, offering though a smile at the woman "the way out is clear, the same that you used to get in... I am sure we'll meet again in the future!"

Felicia Hardy has posed:
"That seems fair," Cat replies and glances back toward the missing tile in the ceiling. "You can rest assured we'll meet again...and...Thanks, Handsome." And with that, Cat leaps to the line dangling from the ceiling, and disappears up inside before the takes one last glance back at the officer. She smiles, gives a twiddle-finger wave, and the tile is dropped back down into the hole, sealing it back up again.

J'onn J'onzz has posed:
J'onn J'onzz makes sure everything is in place, tile included, then lets the scroll float to its rightful place and makes a mental note of examining it to truly understand if it has been stolen as it was said. For now though, he walks out of the room, closes the door and
"It was nothing, just a rat! I mean you would think that in a place like this with alarms and sensors and guards and the like there'd be no rats! But there he was! Large as a cat, I swear, and luckily I'm not afraid of rats, it takes more than a catsized rat to scare me away! But it disappeared in a hole... Now wouldn't a thief use a hole like that to get into the building, perhaps? Isn't it, like, a security issue? Shouldn't we deal with it somehow? Because if a rat can get in, a rat like that, I mean, all sorts of nefarious people could get in! And steal our stuff, and our job would be..."

The recruit is back, and yes, John Jones will want a medal just for not throwing him out of the nearest window.